Fleeting Glory
by PenguinKye
Summary: Something's wrong in the mazoku dimension, so of course Xel calls on the gang to help out. I started a new version but I only got as far as chapter one. Sorry. Fleeting Glory has been fleeting indeed.
1. For the Sake of a Friend...Sort of

Fleeting Glories  
Part One  
For the Sake of a Friend...Sort of.  
  
Dismal. That's what it was.  
He'd never felt a pain like this, one he couldn't find pleasure  
in. He needed to find them quickly. They would set things right.  
Oh, so? He knew better than to depend even on the most likely of  
things. He may have had a means to convince them, but they had sur-  
prised him before, finding out things he wouldn't have expected them  
to. His means could be worthless if he wasn't very careful, and in  
this state, he wasn't certain that his delivery wouldn't be flawed.  
He stumbled from the haze in his mind to discover that he had   
arrived in a village, and was outside its most prominant restaurant.  
If they were in this town, they would be here.  
Even as the thought crossed his mind, loud shrieks broke through  
the tranquil air. Relief flooded over him. That was it, the sign he had  
been waiting for. He watched a large quantity of chicken fly over his   
head, and the next moment found himself being bowled over. The person  
on top of him sat up and inspected her victim.  
"Xelloss! What's up, fruitcake?" Lina grinned, waving the chicken  
she had caught like a flag.  
"I don't seem to be," he replied with a shadow of a grin. He hoped  
that, for now at least, a shadow would be convincing enough to avoid   
questions. Lina laughed, standing and stepping over him. She offered   
her free hand to him.  
"Sorry about that," she said apologetically, "but it's the last   
piece, and you know how it is." He nodded, and reached up to take the  
hand. She yanked up, and as he was pulled, he pitched forward. Lina  
grabbed his shouulder to stop him.  
"Hey Xel, you okay?" Funny. She sounded almost worried.  
"Y-yeah." She looked at him strangely but said nothing about it.  
"C'mon, the others are inside..." Together they turned to the   
building.  
Zel, as could be expected, was far from pleased to see him.  
"Trying to get us killed again, mazoku?" he demanded.  
"More or less," Xellos answered truthfully. He had to sit down.   
Zel was saying something, but he was too busy trying to find an  
empty chair to hear him.  
"Sit next to me, Xelloss-san," piped Amelia. Sweet of you to   
offer, but I don't have a deathwish, he thought. Any joy-of-living  
rants today might take the small amount of joy that he had away.  
"Arigatou, Ame-chan, but I think I'll sit here." He found a place  
and took it as quickly as possible. They were looking at him, he saw.  
That didn't happen too often of its own accord, so he thought he had  
better take advantage of it. He took a deep breath.  
"We need your help," he said. They stared. For one thing, the very  
words went against all that was Xelloss. For another, never had they   
heard him be so upfront about anything.  
"No 'sore wa himitsu desu'? No wild goose chase? No riddles and no  
games just to find out what you're talking about?" Lina sounded dis-  
believing.  
"Sorry to disappoint you, Lina-chan," he murmured. That was true,  
but he knew that she would think it just a turn of phrase.  
"You? Sorry? Now I really am worried," she snorted, but her eyes  
showed that she was quite sincere. He slid his eyes open to look at   
her. She twitched.  
"I mean it, Xel, what do you want?" He blinked once, slowly,   
before he answered.  
"Our world is wrong," he said simply. Lina shivered, feeling as   
though he were talking about two things, one very different from the  
other. "Something is happening to us. We can't feel others' pain-"  
Amelia looked at him "-and we don't enjoy our own." Zel gave a short  
laugh.  
"You want us to help the monsters feel good? I think you have the   
wrong people."   
"Zelgadis-san has a point, Xelloss-san. We spend a lot of time   
justly fighting the powers of evil, and now you want us to give them a  
reward?" She crossed her arms, looking doubtful.  
"You want to help. Believe me."  
"Why? Wait--what? Can we go back a minute or two? I can't quite  
remember-oi!" Gourry rubbed his head where Lina whacked it.  
"Because," said Xelloss, starting to get quiet, "the only thing   
keeping it in place is my master. As soon as she weakens, your world   
will be affected. Not as fast as our realm, nor as violently. But   
after a time it will be like everyone is permanently stuck in the...  
the doldrums. Eventually, you will all weaken and die."  
"Is that so? Well, isn't that a nice little trap your Beastmaster   
has got us in." Lina was sounding dangerously neutral.  
"You're assuming he's telling the truth, Lina," warned Zel.  
"Don't."  
"Yeah, Xelloss-san, how much of that was true?" Oh dear.  
"Most of it was pretty much not a lie." He squirmed.  
"XELLLOOOSSS!!" growled Lina, seeming very large suddenly. "YOU...  
WILL...DIE!" Well, there was an easy one to answer.  
"Yes, Lina," he said. His voice was now close to a whisper.   
That took the wind out of her sails. She snatched his arm.  
"Wh-Xelloss, what's WRONG with you?" He blinked in sudden   
frustration. Fool ningen. Having traveled so long with Zel, she still   
couldn't see when to let things lie? Anger clouded his face as he  
jerked away. Lina pulled back in surprise, hurt in her eyes. Though   
why it should bother her that a mazoku was angry at her he didn't   
know. Mazoku were always angry at her.  
"Fine," she snapped after a stunned silence. "Just tell us what to  
do and get out of here."  
"You need me to get you to our dimension, so be careful what you   
yell," he returned. A sick feeling stuck his throat. Was this what   
humans felt in an argument? Was that what was happening to him? He  
didn't like these emotions half so much firsthand. He let his  
shoulders sag. He was so, so tired... A dampness tickled his lashes   
unpleasantly. Lina was watching him still, and her eyes were growing   
round.  
"X-xel, I'm sorry if I...I..." her voice was lost. Suddenly she   
shook herself. "C'mon, Xel, you want to get back to your old self,  
don'cha? We have to go if we're gonna save your people and mine. Let's  
go!" She dragged him to his feet, to his amazement as much as that of   
her companions. Maybe there was a chance...  
They left without paying *quite* as much as they should have, a   
raggletag group of decidedly confused members. And they were the ones  
on whom the fate of the world rested. Again. 


	2. Into the Shadowlands (Almost)

Kye greets you all! Thanks to the person (who's a great deal smarter than me) who mentioned they'd all but Xel die going into the mazoku dimension. Well, we're all allowed the occasional plothole, ne? I blame it on the beef stick we got for Christmas.  
  
Zel: That really makes no sense at all.  
  
Me: Oh, it does if you were there.  
  
Zel: Do I want to know?  
  
Me: No.  
  
Zel: Ah.  
  
Me: BTW, I didn't make these people up. Someone else (who's a great deal more creative than me) did it. Sue me, and you *might* get a box of plants and a teddy bear. So if you really care that much, a) go ahead. b) you have no life.  
  
Fleeting Glory  
  
Part II  
  
Into the Shadowlands (Almost)  
  
Their journey was quieter than usual, and slower. Lina knew it wasn't his fault, not really; nonetheless, it irked her that so little could be accomplished in almost a full day. She muddled over what to do about it as they made their way up a steep path. Halfway to the top, she stopped dead.  
  
"Xel?" he turned to her wearily. He looked exhausted, which, as far as Lina knew, was impossible. "Hand me your cloak, will you?" she asked. He unhooked it and let it drop into her grasp, looking at her curiously. She leaned over it with an expression of deepest concentration. A moment and a muttering later, she straightened.  
  
"Ray Wing!" she cried. The cloak floated a genial three feet upwards. "I altered the spell to cover inanimate objects," she explained with a pleased grin. "You should be able to control it too," she added for Xelloss' benefit.  
  
"Arigatou, Lina-chan." He let himself fall into the drifting cloak. It was rather comfortable, actually. It was no surprise that some worlds had such an obsession with flying carpets and their kith.  
  
Gourry's eyes were wide.  
  
"Lina, make me one," he said, enraptured. She grinned again, pleased to have her work admired.  
  
"Some other time, okay, Gourry?" she answered. "Is it okay, Xel?"  
  
"Wonderful, Lina-chan." And it was. The frightening part was that he appreciated the wonder of it. That was a terrifyingly un-mazoku thing to do. Lina, however, didn't see this, or if she did, she didn't understand.  
  
"How long till we get to a weak spot?" she asked him. Xelloss had explained while they were still in the village that he would need to break through an already weak part of the boundary between dimensions if he were to send them all through.  
  
"Not long. Maybe an hour," he answered. "And it should be right off the road. No trouble finding."  
  
"That's good. And the sooner the better. Otherwise who knows who'll turn up."  
  
It was very little surprise to her who did show up.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The hour stretched to two, but just as everyone (even Zel) was growing impatient, Xelloss gave them the word they had been wating for.  
  
"Here," he announced. Lina tried to see something about the path ahead of them that was different from any other part of it she'd been on that day.  
  
"How can you tell?" He gave her his closest to scathing look.  
  
"Because it's home." Zel was squinting, paying no mind to their conversation.  
  
"There's someone there," he said flatly. The others looked ahead.  
  
"Who? I don't see...ah..." Lina had spotted the figure, blond and pink-clad. She didn't appreciate it quite as much as Amelia.  
  
"Is that Firia-san? I think it is! Firia-san! Firia-san!" The dragon looked up from her tea with sudden panic. Amelia waved joyously. Firia stood very quickly, turned away, and began to hum loudly.  
  
"Does she really think...?" Lina rested her head hopelessly in one hand. Zel patted her shoulder.  
  
"There are times when you must accept that some people are smart, and some people are not. The fact that most of our companions are the latter is a sad twist of fate, but there isn't really anything you can do about it." She looked at him oddly.  
  
"Zel, please don't say things like that. Until about three seconds ago I had hope that they might someday develop brain cells."  
  
"Sorry." While they had been talking, Amelia and Gourry had made their way over to where Filia was standing, and were now attempting to communicate with her. This was made difficult by the fact that she would spin away and hum as soon as they reached her front. Lina watched them with resignation.  
  
"You know, though, you're probably right."  
  
"I'm afraid so."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It was decided that, all things considering, the company would be better off staying a night before making the jump. Despite his flying cloak, Xelloss was a worn-out Mazoku, and the others didn't particularly want to face a new dimension without the strength of a good night's sleep on their side.  
  
There was soon a healthy campfire, with requisite dinner, around which they sat. Firia had regained some of her composure, enough anyway to sit with them. When a certain namagomi was asleep, she faced the others sternly.  
  
"What are you doing with that creature?" she demanded.  
  
"Firia, the guy isn't a rabid bear. And we're only taking a short trip to his dimension, to work out the kinks, so to speak. It's on the brink of destruction, you see." The gold was silent for a moment as she digested this information. Then...  
  
"WHAT?! You're helping the BAD guys?! What are you thinking? They're evil! They're heartless! They're icky! And they should die!" Lina regarded her with growing irony.  
  
"You want us to allow an entire world to die 'cause they're 'icky'?"  
  
"YES!"  
  
"Well, I would, naturally, but there's a little problem. The only thing keeping their 'plague' in check is our dear pal Beastmaster, and that's only because we can help."  
  
"You mean," asked Firia slowly, "This world could be destroyed as well?"  
  
"Exactly. Which is why we're going."  
  
"Even if the Mazoku don't deserve it? Even though it isn't just to help them?" Amelia twitched.  
  
"Can't the ends justify the means sometimes?" Lina returned, watching Amelia out of the corner of her eye.  
  
"And it wouldn't be very just letting them die, would it? Not when we could help. Right? Or letting our world die. That wouldn't be just, would it?" This was one of those times that Zel got the impression that Gourry was not as stupid as he acted.  
  
"I can't believe you!" Firia cried. "You're all fools! You can go ahead and do as you like, but don't expect any help from me!"  
  
"We didn't," Lina replied drily. "We had no idea you'd be here." Firia responded by furiously sipping her tea. "Well, I'm getting some sleep," Lina continued. "You all can do what you want, but I plan to have rested when I switch dimensions." She sauntered away from the fire with a yawn and a stretch. She was just about to fall asleep when Amelia appeared by her side.  
  
"I think I'll hold you back if I go," she said, surprising Lina with her forthrightness.  
  
"I thought you'd say..well, not that, but I knew you wouldn't come. I think you would hate it there, that it would be too full of evil and every step you took would hurt. I think you're brave to come out and say so, too." Amelia nodded with a small smile.  
  
"Thanks, Lina-san. I'll be waiting for you all to come back. And if you don't..." she grinned and walked away, leaving Lina to dream of the consequences.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The sorceress was amazed when she woke to find the fire dead and the sun high.  
  
"It's nearly midmorning!" she cried. "How could I sleep so late?" It seemed she wasn't the only one. Amelia and Firia were on one side of the fire, snoring ungracefully. Gourry was leaned against a rock muttering something about pickles, and Zel was as still as...hm...as a stone. She took a quick peek at Xelloss. He lay just as he had the night before, not seeming to have moved at all. For some reason, this made Lina nervous. She stumbled to her feet, tripping her way over to the sleeping trickster priest. She knelt next to him, biting her lip.  
  
"Xelloss," she whispered, softly at first, and then louder. "Xel!" She nudged his shoulder, and he shook her hand away, rolling into a half- moon. She frowned, and shook him again, not quite roughly. One dark eye slid open, looking confused. She'd never seen those eyes confused before. Maybe it was because only one was open; it wondered why the other didn't join it.  
  
Xelloss sat up fuzzily.  
  
"Lina-chan?" He looked at her, and then at the bright sky. His face darkened. "How long?"  
  
"About...lessee. Eleven hours?"  
  
"No."  
  
"No?" She repeated quizzically. Xelloss' expression pleaded her to tell him that she was wrong. Pleading was something else he'd never do. It was too human.  
  
"Mazoku don't need sleep often. When we do, it isn't for eleven hours straight! You must be wrong. You have to be wrong." Lina regarded the panicking mazoku, if he was that, gravely.  
  
"Xel, we have to get you home. I don't know how it's doing this to you, but it's doing well." She took his hand and pulled him up. He was so much smaller than Gourry! Had she tried to pull her 'protector' upright, she herself would most likely have fallen over.  
  
"Let me get the others," she said. "Then we're out of here."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Ready?" she asked them. Gourry and Zel nodded. On que, Xelloss ripped a hole in the world.  
  
"Go!" he shouted at the gaping humans, holding the tear open with all his might. Zelgadis pushed Gourry in, following quickly.  
  
"You better show up!" called Lina over the wind of the tear. Then she, too, jumped in. Xelloss let the breach go, and it fell back into place. He preferred using his usual method to transport himself. He dissappeared.  
  
____________________________________________________________  
  
Author's Notes: Yatta! I finally finished! See, I had this whole chapter done, but I... *ahemcoughsnort*lostthedisk *hackwheezeeh*. SO. I am vey proud. *sniff* PLEASE R&R (!!!) and thank you for your impatience. ^^ 


	3. Treachery (if it counts)

Fleeting Glory  
  
Part III:  
  
Treachery (If it Counts)  
  
Lina knew something was wrong as soon as she stepped into the other world. For one thing, she couldn't see very well. And besides that, there was something wrenching about the dimension, something so alien and powerful that it tore at your gut, your lungs, your very soul. She felt herself begin to slip, in the vaguest way.  
  
Zel caught her.  
  
"You can see in this place?" she asked. She almost saw him shrug.  
  
"I have mazoku blood, remember?" He sounded as though he would have liked to forget. "I guess this world is in my genes." Lina nodded, or thought she did.  
  
"Where's Gourry?" she asked fuzzily. Zel pointed beyond her. She turned slightly, and caught a glimpse of a yellow-haired figure wobbling drunkenly across what she supposed could be considered ground. "And Xelloss?"  
  
On cue, the trickster appeared, albeit tricklessly.  
  
"Here, Lina-chan," he answered carelessly. The air of his own world was working...well, if not wonders, then some small magic.  
  
"What are we supposed to do now?" she asked him.  
  
"Wait," came his helpful reply. She sighed in annoyance. Her sight had begun to adjust, and she considered using the improvement to take aim at Xel.  
  
"For that." he pointed a gloved finger into the distance. Lina barely caught sight of a shape- no, two- moving towards them at no small speed.  
  
"Your mistress?" she inquired.  
  
"So I would assume."  
  
"Then is it?"  
  
"You shall see soon enough."  
  
"Xelloss!" He grinned, not quite apologetically.  
  
It was indeed Xelas. Accompanying her was someone she would rather not have been near at all. She would not have had him if she didn't need to, for many reasons, not the least of which was his smell. Pain and hurt are all very well, but bad hygiene is never acceptable. She did her best to ignore him and his unstoppable odor entirely. There were other things to think about, fortunately: Lina Inverse and her companions were at the top of that list. And indeed, here she was, just on time. Xelloss had done well. He very nearly always did.  
  
"Lina Inverse," she said by way of greeting when she arrived.  
  
"Lord Beastmaster," Lina answered politely. There was fire behind the words.  
  
"I am pleased that you are here," said Xelas, sounding as cordial as any good hostess. She fought back the urge to rip out the girl's throat and tear her to pieces. "As you have been told by Xelloss, our world and yours are in trouble. That is true, just not in the way you think. In fact, everything that Xelloss told you is true; it just isn't all connected."  
  
"What do you mean?" demanded Zelgadis. A strange green tint had come to his rocky skin.  
  
"Well, my world is in trouble from another, and yours is in danger as well. The thing I made sure he neglected to mention is that I'm the only thing that's thinking of destroying your world." Lina kicked herself mentally. She had known, not so deep down, that it was probably a trick. She had chosen to believe anyway. "Besides which, Xelloss here is sick, but not in any way that would hurt you." Xelloss gave Lina another weak grin. She chose not to acknowledge the glance. "You would find yourselves with an affliction that would be just as terrible, but not the same one."  
  
"Why didn't you just give us your demands straight out?" wondered Lina. Xelas snorted, pulling out a cig. It lit itself, and she took a long drag.  
  
"On your own turf? Not likely. You would have skipped off to find some way of beating the whole mazoku race in the middle of it. This way you're stuck. You have nothing to get you back to your world without the mazoku, and your world's fate rests on your assistance. Besides, it's a lot more fun to make you worry. Worry actually has more flavor to it than you'd expect; all those scenes you imagine when you're worrying give it a creative zing."  
  
"So what are we supposed to do?" Lina asked.  
  
"Go with him." She jabbed a well-manicured thumb in the direction of the foul-smelling thing. Lina looked skeptical. "He's not much interested in fighting, but he can't be harmed by magic and his strength is really quite impressive. Well, I guess you can tell, him being in human form.  
  
"I suggest you don't get any ideas. There's no way out of here." Lina thought of the summoning spells she and Zel had at their command. "After all," Xelas continued, "this dimension isn't a low-level mazoku plaything. It's real. Nothing you can summon can break this place." So that took out Lina's big idea. She watched Xelas begin to saunter away, her general by her side.  
  
"Xelas!" she called after them. The mazoku Lord turned, eyebrow raised. "What did you do to Xelloss?" She laughed as she replied.  
  
"I made him almost human."  
  
So that was it. She had wondered about it, but decided it laughable since it wouldn't effect humans. That had been stupid of her.  
  
Xelas and Xelloss started away again, and the other mazoku turned to them.  
  
"Come on," he said. "Your going to the Dungeon for a while."  
  
"Why?" The mazoku looked surprised.  
  
"So that I can tell you what Master Xelas ordered me to."  
  
"I mean, why in a dungeon?"  
  
"Not a dungeon, The Dungeon. It's a pub, more or less." The mazoku shrugged. He appeared as a young man in perhaps his early twenties. His hair was a surprisingly unobtrusive navy blue, and was bound into a short pigtail at the base of his neck. Lina noticed that he smelled very unmazoku- like (they didn't usually smell bad, but they did smell as though they were evil). In fact, asked to name the scent, she would have said lilac.  
  
"But mazoku don't eat, do they?"  
  
"They drink well enough. And why not? Beastmaster-sama smokes, doesn't she?"  
  
"That's true," answered Lina.  
  
"Look, I don't mean to rush you two, but do you think we could save this for later?" Zel appeared, dragging Gourry behind him.  
  
"Where were you?" asked Lina. She hadn't even realized he had gone.  
  
"Getting Gourry, where else?"  
  
"Oh." She had forgotten about him as well.  
  
"Your friend is right," interrupted the mazoku. "We should go."  
  
"Of course," said Lina.  
  
"Wait...who's this? Where's Xelloss? I missed that part." Lina sighed.  
  
"This time, Gourry, you don't want to know.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
The Dungeon was a noisy place that, with the exception of being full of Mazoku, was like any other tavern they had visited. There was the requisite drink, although it was steamy and seemed to be inhabited. Tables were packed side by side just so that it was impossible to stand up or sit down without shifting them. It was full of ugly people arguing pointless subjects, and all of them were drunk.  
  
"Home, sweet home, ne, Lina?" muttered Zel. She nodded. She would have replied, but their new acquaintance, who had told them his name was Mikechi, had returned with drinks. He set them down, then settled into a chair.  
  
"Have a drink. It's not as scary as it looks." he took a gulp to illustrate. "And it will be a longish story," he added.  
  
"What kind of story?" asked Lina.  
  
"An interesting one for you, I suspect. For my race, though, it's a horrible tale." Lina leaned forward.  
  
"We've been tricked, lied to, and kidnapped to hear it, so go on." Mikechi grinned, and it was so reminiscent of Xelloss that Lina wondered if they all did that at one time or another.  
  
"You say that now. I wonder how you'll feel when I've finished."  
  
"We can only find out by trying."  
  
____________________________________________________________  
  
Author's notes: Yay, I did it!!! In case you were wondering, 'Mi' is more or less 'un' or 'not', and kechi means stingy. Strange name for a mazoku, ne? BTW for Amelia fans, she WILL have a role in this story; she just isn't hangin' with the usual crowd. R&R, onegai shimasu! 


	4. The Whole Story (Maybe)

I know I already did this chap...so where'd it go?? @_@  
  
Fleeting Glory  
  
Part IV:  
  
The Whole Story (Maybe)  
  
Lina sipped her drink, leaning back in her seat.  
  
"It began not long before Xelloss met up with you-- maybe a fortnight ago," Mikechi began. "Not many people knew about it at first. But word spread quickly.  
  
"It began in small villages, at the edge of our plane. At first, only a few people saw it, and as a whole it was decided that there was an outbreak of insanity. It's happened before, and while it was unfortunate, it wasn't too terrifying. But then…Then whole villages were taken, and it wasn't just that they were seeing things. Travelers and relatives saw the places and fled. For something wrong was there, something so alien that humanity would have been a comfort...  
  
"Something...something had grown overtop the corners of our dimension, not extinguishing it, but replacing it. Changing it, in some seemingly irreparable way. About a week ago, someone stopped, tried to drag villager out of the changed place. They both died."  
  
"How do you know all this if there's been no one left to tell?" Mikechi looked bereaved.  
  
"We have a timeslide, that lets us find the beginnings of things. That's why so few mazoku even try to go against the higher-ups. Bad things happen to them." He got a far-off look, and Lina waited for him to continue, rather curious.  
  
"Anyway...they sent others, just to scout firsthand. Only a few of those made it back, although they had been warned not to go too close. What they reported was strange, almost surreal if we had nightmares."  
  
"Don't you?" asked Lina.  
  
"Not...usually. As I was saying. Whatever grew onto our world is another dimension. Not a close one, like your realm and ours, but something else altogether. There are colors there that we don't understand. Things aren't straightforward. It's not too hard to tell what's good and evil in our worlds, is it?"  
  
"A little bit, but no, not too hard. I mean, we've all got perspectives, but we're certain about them, right?"  
  
"Exactly. The point is, it isn't like that there. Good and evil mix together, and no one is always entirely sure of everything they feel."  
  
"How do you know that?"  
  
"You don't want to know everything we do to get our way. You're on the soft side." Lina was skeptical.  
  
"We've been threatened, manipulated, captured, brainwashed, killed, and beaten, and we're on the soft side?" Mikechi quirked a smile.  
  
"That's it? Well, believe me or don't, but you've gotten off easy. Where was I before you so kindly interupted?"  
  
"They feel inbetween-like."  
  
"That's it exactly."  
  
"So why can't you take their pain the same way you do everyone else's?"  
  
"Because while they have fear and hatred and pain, it's not pure. There are positive emotions in every one of their terrors. It's remarkable, and it chokes us. That's why the scouts died. These creatures' emotions have an exotic tang, apparently, not being local. The scouts tried to feed off of it before they realized, and they went too far, took too much. Knocked 'em off like flies, as you would say."  
  
"But as long as you avoid the area..."  
  
"It's creeping, Lina Inverse. It's taking over the whole realm, and when it finds somewhere to push through to your world, it will." She shrugged.  
  
"What will it matter to you?"  
  
"Humans have fragile psyches. If a constant range of emotions and a never-ending grey is all you see, what is there to stop you from going into a deep depression? What will stay you from dying at your own hand because there isn't anything better to live for? Because your world is gone." Lina was silent then, as the full meaning of his words sank in.  
  
"So we'd basically be an entire world of suicidals?"  
  
"And that would be fine, except that the Mazoku will already be dead by the time your negative emotions are realm-wide." Lina threw a look at Zel. He looked horrified.  
  
"But how are they doing this?" she asked, still looking at Zel.  
  
"We don't know. If we knew, we could probably figure out how to get rid of them. " Mikechi sighed. "And that's why we brought you."  
  
"What? You think Lina can fix what your whole world couldn't?" Zel asked. "Not that she hasn't been more successful than you in the past, but shouldn't you at least have some idea by now?"  
  
"Look," said Mikechi. "We failed. We admit it. We're only going to say it so many times. Help or don't , but this is just as much on you as on us." For a moment they sat still, letting all of the boisterous bar noises go on without them. Then Lina spoke.  
  
"I'll try. I'll try, but I'm not promising anything. And I'll need your race's help."  
  
"Fine," the mazoku answered quickly. "You'll get it." He hoped Xellas wouldn't kill him for making such a promise. "Thank you." Lina sighed.  
  
"I guess it's my job, isn't it?" she said resignedly.  
  
  
  
Amelia Wil Tesla Seiruun stood before her father's throne.  
  
"And whose company do we have the honor of sharing?" Prince Philionel asked formally. Firia stepped forward with a curtsey.  
  
"I am Firia of the Golden Dragons," she replied. She decided to leave off her former affiliation as a priestess.  
  
"It is our pleasure to meet you, madam. We have heard much of your valor from our royal princess Amelia." Phil bowed. Then he smiled. "Please, accompany my daughter and myself to tea."  
  
  
  
Firia sipped, and Amelia sipped, and Phil…slurped.  
  
"That's quite amazing. But…how did you manage to get along with that mazoku?" Phil asked. Firia cracked the cup in half. Phil stared.  
  
"Get ALONG? With XELLOSS??" she cried. "NO one can get along with Xelloss! He's the slimiest, most horrible, disgusting, idiotic, evil-" The door burst open, cutting off her rant. A disheveled steward stood in its wake, breathing hard and looking terrified.  
  
"Lord! Lady! A messenger has come. He says…He says the world is falling away."  
  
  
  
A/N: I'M SOOOOO SOOOOORRRRRRYYYYYYY!!!!!! I took forever…it was wrong…and this was short! Waugh! Okay, I know Phil seems OOC, but he really really really really annoys me, so I decided to change him somewhat. I hope no one minds. /sarcasm/  
  
Stupid modern Windows! Won't let me put asterisks around a word without it going bold! Dumb autocorrect! EVIL! YAK! ---I'm okay…I promise, promise, promise, to work on this! I was just trying to finish Changing Wyrds. I'm sorry! /sob/ STUPID WORD! …kye hates computers today… 


	5. Bad Omens (Just a Little Bit)

Fleeting Glory Part V: Bad Omens (Just a Little Bit)  
  
Amelia stared at the steward.  
  
"What?" She said finally. Prince Phil swallowed, then spoke. "Can you bring him here?" he asked in a low voice.  
  
"I'll fetch him," the steward said. During the minute he was away, silence grew in heavy layers. The sound of breathing had disappeared, for all three had stopped breathing almost completely. When the steward returned, a disheveled village man behind him, they all jumped.  
  
"Oh," said Prince Phil. "Come in, come in." The man settled across from them. The steward took his leave.  
  
"Now," said Amelia when the door was shut, "can you tell us what you mean, exactly?"  
  
The man shook his head.  
  
"I can't describe it," he said. His voice was thick. "It's not there. It's.it's."  
  
"What?"  
  
"There used to be villages there! There were people and animals! Farms and families! Stores and-" he broke off with a sob. Prince Phil rose, walked to the man, and laid a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"What's there now?" he asked softly.  
  
"I don't KNOW!" The messenger's voice rose sharply into panic at the end. "It's not right! It's there, but not what it was. There are things, living I think, but I don't know, and they aren't what was there! It's gone. It's not right."  
  
Amelia and Firia exchanged a look.  
  
"What.?" said Firia softly.  
  
"I don't know, but it doesn't sound good." She turned to the man. "Where did you come from?"  
  
"I'm.I was from a village on the border of Saillune and Elmekia, where they border the Desert of Destruction. I had gone with a trading party to the Coastal States for fish. It was going fine, but when we got back, our homes weren't there. Most of the others kept going. As soon as they got close." He stopped. His audience waited, until Firia reached over, and gently said, "Yes?"  
  
"As soon as they got close, they disappeared. So we waited for them- there were five of us left-we waited for them, but they didn't come back. Selvyn, he's a good man, but he's had so much happen in his life.Selvyn went mad. Completely crazy, right off. We tried to keep him, but that night, he escaped when we were all asleep. Meb saw him running out across the desert, and there weren't no way we were going to follow him there.  
  
"So next morning, I go. Or come. The others- they stayed. In case anyone came out. But I don't think. It's been five days getting here. And now I gotta tell you. The world is falling away. Something else is there. It's not like us at all. Or it is.but it isn't. It's not our world."  
  
Princess Amelia looked at Prince Phil. Firia looked at them both.  
  
"I wish Lina were here," said Amelia.  
  
  
  
Lina was busy worrying about how to hold up her promise to save the world.  
  
"What am I going to do?" she muttered to Zel and Gourry. Mikechi strode ahead of them.  
  
Zelgadis looked at her in amazement.  
  
"I don't have the slightest idea," he said.  
  
"Why did you say you'd help if you don't know how?" asked Gourry.  
  
"I said I'd try! I didn't even know the problem until half an hour ago!" she exclaimed.  
  
"How do you know?" asked Zel, looking suddenly thoughtful.  
  
"What?"  
  
"How do you know you've only known for half an hour?"  
  
"ZEL!" Mikechi gave them a sideways look, shrugged, and kept walking.  
  
"What?" Zel said sheepishly. " I just meant, how do you know how time elapses here?"  
  
"You mean.?"  
  
"I mean, maybe it feels like half an hour, but it could have been three days, or the length of a yawn." Lina stared at him.  
  
"What's with you? We get over here to Happy Monster Land, and you turn into the court philosopher! Get a grip, Zel!"  
  
"I have a grip," he said, sounding affronted. "I'm dead serious."  
  
"And what brought this on, anyway?"  
  
"I just wondered about it all of the sudden."  
  
"How can you have time to wonder about time--" She heard her words and did a mental double take. "How can you, when it's hard enough thinking about saving the worlds? Just because you almost fit in here, and can actually see straight doesn't mean you have to go off on rants about time! And I'd say we have something else to worry about at the moment! Unless the fate of the world doesn't mean anything to you, in which case I suggest--"  
  
"Lina!" In an uncharacteristic motion, he grabbed her shoulders. Gourry looked toward what passed for ground here.  
  
"Yeah?" Lina said.  
  
"Calm down. It's not like you to panic." She wriggled uncomfortably.  
  
"I just don't feel right here," she said at last. "And anyway, it's not like you to ignore what I say to you." Zel dropped his grasp.  
  
"I wasn't ignoring you," he told her.  
  
'Right,' thought Gourry, still staring fixedly elsewhere. 'You would never ignore her.'  
  
"I just thought of it, and I had to say something about it. I'm not belittling your problem."  
  
"It's not her problem," said Gourry. "It's everybody's, isn't it?"  
  
"Sure, but she's the one Xelas'll kill if she screws up."  
  
"Thanks so much, Zel," said Lina. Paying attention to him, not Gourry at all. "Won't really matter, will it?" said Mikechi suddenly. "If both worlds end, how you die won't make much of a difference." Gourry smiled. He'd thought something along those lines, but if he had said so it would have sounded stupid.  
  
"I guess not," admitted Zel.  
  
"Depending on how Xelas would kill me," Lina added darkly.  
  
  
  
"What should we do?" asked Prince Phil hopelessly, once the man had left. Amelia hesitated.  
  
"I think we should go see it ourselves," she said.  
  
  
  
A.N.: Do you believe it?! I actually wrote again! It's been four months! This is the first time I've been inspired! Wow! Hope I keep being inspired. By the way, I didn't make up the geography. It's from here:  
  
http://www.inverse.org/e/bkg/world/geo2.shtml  
  
It's a good site overall. Highly recommended. Anyway, please review, since I've had eleven since April. Number's getting old. See y'all!!! 6.~ 


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